Dr. Laura Bambrick:

On behalf of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, I thank the members of the committee for the invitation to input into its discussions on artificial intelligence in the workplace. I am accompanied by my colleague, Mr. David Joyce.

Trade unions acknowledge that AI systems offer immense opportunities for improving work and workplaces. For example, AI tools can improve worker safety and productivity and free them up do more rewarding work. At the same time, however, without appropriate regulation, the increased usage of these largely invisible technologies poses potential risks to workers, which is why we strongly endorse the European Trade Union Confederation calls for a dedicated EU directive on AI in the workplace.

In the same way that EU legislation sets minimum standards for occupational health and safety, new rules are needed to set European minimum standards for the design and use of AI in our workplaces and to guarantee that no worker is subject to the will of a machine. We need to equip the workforce with the skills required to keep pace with AI technologies. We also need to prepare for technological unemployment. We will need a just transition approach whereby policies are put in place to ensure that where parts of jobs, whole jobs or whole industries become redundant, workers’ living standards are protected through pay-related and proactive income supports, including through a genuine short-time work scheme for vulnerable but viable employment and retraining opportunities. We must also ensure other quality jobs are created for workers to move into.

The shift to remote working brought the intrusive use of AI to monitor and supervise workers centre stage and, as has been mentioned, in the past six months, the launch of the content generating AI platform, ChatGPT, has opened up public interest in the potential for AI to transform jobs and displace large swathes of the workforce along the way. However, the widespread adoption of AI-driven technology in the workplace predates the pandemic. One in five Irish workers are now using AI tools in their jobs, according to the latest Microsoft Ireland work trends index, which was published this month and surveyed 700 workers across Irish organisations.

Previous digitalisation was mainly characterised by technological innovations such as computerisation, automation and robotics. This was based on automated processes through explicit rules and manually written computer programmes. AI is different, as we have heard. It is highly disruptive and self-learning and can independently derive connections and make decisions. While logical "if-then" programme steps were, in principle, comprehensive until now, AI can induce decision processes that can no longer be explained by the programmers themselves after some time nor anticipated by developers. The danger of dehumanisation of decision-making processes, especially when used in human resources tools, for example, to recruit workers, monitor their work, analyse their behaviour and even terminate their employment, is already bitter reality.

At a European level, trade unions have been advocating from the beginning for regulation that promotes the positive effects of AI while shielding workers from potential harms that could arise, especially to their rights. The EU's AI Act is not suitable for regulating the use of AI in the workplace, preserving the dignity of workers and counteracting dehumanisation at work. Although the legislative process has not yet been completed, the proposal submitted by the European Commission was more than disappointing from the workers' point of view. It only requires software providers to self-assess their own technology between low-risk and high-risk before putting it on the market and did not include any rules on the use of AI in the workplace.

The amendments agreed by committee and approved by the European Parliament last week on 14 July are mostly welcome, including, first, requiring consultation with workers and their unions before introducing AI to the workplace. A recent OECD survey of workers on the impact of AI in the workplace in seven countries' manufacturing and financial sectors found that, where consultation took place, workers were more likely to report AI had a positive impact on their performance and working conditions. That is from March of this year. Second, the amendments require an impact assessment on fundamental rights before AI is introduced to a workplace. Third, they allow a member state to restrict the use of an AI system in the workplace if it is done to protect workers' rights.

The Parliament now has to defend these amendments in negotiations with the Council on the final text. Notwithstanding the outcome, major weaknesses remain. Although the EU Commission has defined AI systems used for hiring, promotion or dismissal as high risk, the use of AI applications in the workplace will only be restricted if it poses a significant risk to workers' safety or fundamental rights. It is not clear when a risk is considered high enough to be significant or how to determine the risk ex ante. Software providers can be expected to self-classify their own applications as non-significant. The procedure provided for in the legislation is not capable of preventing this and will only lead to forum shopping for the weakest supervisory regime.

Trade unions are not looking to hold back the tide of progress. We acknowledge the potential of AI for improving work and workplaces when used in the right way. We demand robust regulation. Workers' rights and protections must be fit for purpose to keep pace with these powerful technological developments. AI in the workplace must deliver for workers as much as for business.

I thank members for their attention and I am happy to take any questions.